With respect to the belief in God (or anything for that matter), the burden of proof is on the believer. Without the proof that God exists (after many centuries of study), it’s an entirely rational conclusion to state that God does *not* exist.

carlislematthew, burden of proof or respecting beliefs has nothing to do with it.

Please conduct a scientific test to prove or disprove that those things that float above your deck do or do not exist. You cannot conduct such an experiment. Therefore, the rational conclusion is that we do not know whether they exist or not. Most of us would believe they do not exist, but this is not a rational conclusion, it is again a belief.

I’m belaboring this because this whole board exists because some (myself included) believe there is a housing bubble. Believing something does not make it true or untrue. We collect evidence and try to draw rational conclusions based on the evidence, not lack thereof.